Emerald Group Publishing - a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society - is proud to launch a Special Issue of Performance Measurement and Metrics guest edited by the Global Libraries (GL) initiative of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
GL focusses on providing access to technology in public libraries throughout entire countries with an emphasis on developing and transitioning countries. GL's multi-year grants (or 'country grants') have helped highlight the importance of measuring impact and connecting it to library services and advocacy in order to ensure libraries are recognised and funded as core community assets and partners.
Co-edited by David Streatfield of Information Management Associates and Jeremy Paley from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, this Special Issue of Performance Measurement and Metrics is a four-part narrative of the progress GL has made and the lessons it has learned, particularly in relation to how it tracks the impact of its grants and uses that information to create more impact.
In this Special Issue, GL argues that more public libraries need to be able to assess how they support long-term community impact. Without this type of quantitative data, libraries struggle to articulate their value in the digital age and secure funding and partnerships for their long-term sustainability. The work reported here shows how advocacy based on impact assessment can contribute to sustainability by helping libraries build allies, find partners, and secure financial support.
Several other examples of this pioneering work in this area are also discussed in the Special Issue.
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